In fact, the second quarter of 2016 alone saw over 800,000 pay-TV subscribers in the U.S. jump ship for better alternatives — and not only is it the biggest quarterly loss that the pay-TV industry has ever seen, but there’s still a “gradual increase in the decline rate”.

Slow Internet Speeds and Data Caps

In order to cut pay-TV, you have only two options: either you stop watching anything but free network TV OR you pay for an alternative — and since most cord-cutters still want to watch TV, most of them opt for the latter.

In my case, I’m paying $70 per month for “up to 25 Mbps” bandwidth from Comcast, which translates as 3 MB per second (or 180 MB per minute). That’s my theoretical best speed. Internet performance can dip at peak hours, and when it does, it impacts my video streaming experience.

To be fair, producers have been catching on and are now more likely to provide online streams that you can tune into. For example, you can watch Major League Soccer games online if you get MLS Live. NBC also offered online streams for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

But for the most part, it’s still tough. Sports games can sometimes be blacked out for online viewers, for example, so it’s still safer to get a cable sports package if you’re afraid of missing out on important games.

And that’s not even mentioning the fact that you have to juggle a bunch of different subscriptions, whereas pay-TV is a single easy-to-pay bill. The hassle alone is a huge barrier to cord-cutting.

Rising Prices, Falling Value

If you ask cord-cutters for the primary reason why they went ahead and dropped pay-TV, most of them will tell you that they did it to save money. These folks were paying over $100/mo just to watch a handful of channels when they could get Netflix for just $10/mo.

Add in the cost of the high-speed internet connection that you’ll need for a pleasant viewing experience and you’ll start to wonder if cutting the cord is worth it after all.

Pay-TV seems to make even more sense when you also consider the fact that cable companies regularly offer incredible promotional deals when you bundle TV with internet — and if you’re going to pay for internet anyway, these bundles are an insane value where pay-TV ends up being much cheaper than you might have thought.

Non-cord-cutters know this. And if you know how to game the systems behind these promotional deals, you can stay at promo rates year after year.

Restrictions and Limitations

One common complaint that we get when we cover content changes to the Netflix catalog is that the changes only apply to the U.S. version of Netflix, and this highlights a huge problem for cord-cutters: you don’t always get what you pay for.

Cable TV “Just Works”

Believe it or not, many streaming services are still too complicated for mainstream viewers, and I’m not just talking about the tech-illiterate or the elderly. I’ve met millenials who couldn’t navigate Netflix, Prime Video, or Hulu.

In a lot of ways, pay-TV is just… easier. Everyone understands the concept of a channel: each channel is associated with a single number and plays its own brand of TV shows. Want to switch to a different channel? Enter the number or hit Channel Up/Down.

Pay-TV is also predictable. You can get home from work and flip to the same channels at the same times on the same days of the week to watch the same shows that you’ve been watching for months or years. The schedule does change between seasons, but even that is cyclic and therefore predictable.

“That sounds like Netflix but worse,” you might say, but think of it like this: if you already have pay-TV and you already get all of the channels you want and you think the price is fair, then why cut the cord when you can just set up TiVo and record what you want to watch and get the on-demand experience anyway?

For many, that’s what it comes down to. Not only is pay-TV often easier to use, but they already have momentum as a cable subscriber and it isn’t worth the effort — for them, at least — to go through the hassle of cutting the cord.

And then there are people like me for whom the above stipulations don’t really apply; my internet is fast and cap-free, I’m in the U.S., and I only subscribe to three services so the overall cost is low. Which means we’re quite happy with all cord-cutting has to offer.

Have you or have you not cut the cord yet? If so, which streaming services do you pay for? If not, can you pinpoint the reason(s)? Let us know in the comments below!

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Terrell

December 30, 2016 at 10:58 pm

Perhaps I overlooked something in this blog article that was covered. However, my question is this: I've dropped my Cable TV (it was boring) from my ISP, but as far as I can tell, I still must rely on my ISP in order to use my computer for the Internet. Is there a better way to acquire and use the Internet short of going back to DSL?

"Why have you not cut the cord yet?" Because I live in New Zealand, and if I did I'd be limited to the New Zealand version of Netflix and the other worse services with even less shows. I'd rather not be stuck with just Shortland Street to watch. And the media companies wonder why people pirate things.

I have an antenna, a TV tuner (silicondust.com), a Win7 computer, and broadband internet service. The antenna feeds into the tuner which feeds into the computer and appears on the home network. The internet goes to the router and to the computer via ethernet. So every computer on the home network can watch OTA (over the air - broadcast) digital tv as well as access all streaming services. The computer comes with Windows Media Center which provides the software to organize all our media including watching and recording OTA tv on the harddrive and the internet streaming lets us watch Netflix, etc. Windows Media Center works like a dream and it also has all our music, videos, and pictures. It works. Oh, did I mention that the tv tuner has two tuners so you can record two shows at once? The system also operates via a dedicated remote.

Jon, it's something that has to be researched/studied and taken a step at a time. The SiliconDust tuner is key (or another tv tuner card) and there are forums at their web site to help. It would likely help to draw a diagram and walk yourself through the pathways the various signals (tv broadcast signals & internet) take through the modem, router, tv tuner, computer, & tv/monitor. Windows Media Center (WMC)(not Player) is a jewel at organizing the media but there are others like Kobi, Plex, etc. Also, there are WMC remotes for sale that are dedicated to using WMC and cost something like $10 -$15. Start Googling!

I have cable and internet, and Comcast raises my bill ten dollars a month every year. If I cancel cable and just keep the internet, they raise my bill 20 dollars a month every year. My tv is unplugged. Cable is a racket, but until there is a way to get the internet without Comcast or Verizon, there are no other options.

Ouch, you must be living in one of the areas where Comcast has an absolute monopoly over high-speed internet. Where I live, Comcast competes with Verizon -- they're still horrible, but my horror stories aren't as bad as some of the other areas of the U.S. I would be furious with those kinds of price hikes!

I got rid of TV before cable even became available here in the Boston area, which was a very long time ago. I don't miss it all. There's music, books, concerts, the Internet, hobbies, and so many better things to do. And TV is the worst and most superficial source of news. No TV beats cable TV any day -- and it's free and has no commercials.

Wow, that's incredible, Don. Do you ever feel like you're missing out on the narrative side of TV? Sure there's a lot of crap on all of the networks (including news and reality shows) but there are a lot of great TV shows with compelling stories too.

I cut the cord about three years ago, and I absolutely love it. I have two Roku boxes, a PS3, and a WII all which I can watch either Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, etc. I like the fact that all the equipment is mine, and there's no monthly fees for rental. I pay for what I want to watch when I want to watch. I also have a couple antennas therefore I can watch local broadcast channels. There's no going back to Comcast cable for me because now I'm my own cable company! Lol ?

Haven't cut the cord--although I desperately want to--because I live in a rural area where satellite internet is my *only* option. I live far enough away from town that the cable companies (including AT&T) don't extend service to my area. With 10Gb data cap and 10Mbps max (hardly ever reached), I can watch one Netflix movie or a couple of shows each month; then I'm throttled and buffering constantly. Until someone can come up with a solution for us rural folks, cutting the cord is pretty much only for you city fellers.

this article doesn't give Sling enough credit. I cut the cord years ago, have a Roku 3 (no streaming issues, quality is fantastic) now with Sling and have never looked back. If you add the Epix package for a measly $5 extra and get 6 more movie channels. You will need high speed internet (I have 70/70mbps) and no problem running the Roku, a laptop, tablet and phone all at the same time with no issues. Screw the cable Co. you don't need them for entertainment purposes anymore.

Wow! Let's do the math. I already had Hulu and Netflix BEFORE I cut the cord (like most of America at this point). I bought my own cable modem long ago to get higher speeds and lower the cable bill. I already had Amazon Prime for the free shipping (programming is a bonus). I bought a cheap antenna for OTA broadcasts. I've had Plex and my DVD collection for years.

I'm saving $130/Mo off the $179.72/Mo I was paying, and I'm out less than one month's cable bill to get there. As for programming, I no longer have access to all those bundled channels I never once tuned to. Guess I'm missing something.

BTW, this write-up looks like it was written by a sales department at a cable company. I'm not challenging you sincerity, but you really don't seem to be in favor of cutting the cord, despite declarations to the contrary. Just sayin'.

We haven't cut the cord because we never attached the cord. I never understood why, if over the air tv had ads, then why would anyone accept ads on pay tv? In effect they are paying to see ads. Never made sense. So we never connected.
We do have internet and do stream some shows.

The reason cable TV became popular to begin with is OTA broadcasts used to be broadcast with an analog signal. They looked awful, reception was spotty at best, and weather - even a stiff breeze - ruined the viewing experience.

Cable TV provided a demonstrably better experience and access to channels that were not available OTA or by any other means.

Since broadcasters are more required to use digital signals for their broadcasts, the experience with using an OTA antenna is now flawless, with the exception of weather effects of your signal strength is inadequate. In fact, the video signal from OTA broadcasts is entirely uncompressed, which is not the case with cable transmission, meaning that an antenna provides a superior experience when compared with cable!

First of all, I have to say that this new MUO article format - in which the article is interrupted about every 150 words or so - is going to get super annoying rather quickly. Enough already!

Second, I am a cord cutter since 2013 who returned (at least in part) to cable. Why? Because Comcast bundled its internet and TV at a price that made it more sense to order them both. After a recent upgrade, I now pay about $70 for 70 mbps and 40 TV channels. I continue to watch TV via my Roku, but I will occasionally turn on cable news. In addition, many cable networks allow me to stream their content on demand but only because I already subscribe to them via cable. So even if I am not watching cable TV, I can still benefit from the cable subscription.

It does seem like Comcast's packages are designed so that the bundles are more economical than getting internet alone. For me, it's cheaper to get internet + basic TV + HBO GO than to get only internet -- but I've still cut the cord anyway and spend 99% of my time on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video. :P